Mutual Fund Basics

Financial Goals

When it comes to investing, it is advisable to stay aligned with the long-term investment plans. Investors must remember the often-quoted advice, “long term investing is often boring. If you are finding it adventurous, you may not be doing it right.” Here are seven smart tips for long-term investing:

A mid-cap fund is a type of an equity mutual fund scheme that invests at least 65% or more of its net assets in the equity shares of mid-cap companies. As per the SEBI (Securities & Exchange Board of India) categorization norms, the companies ranking between 101 to 250 in terms of full market capitalization are classified as mid-cap companies.

New Fund Offer (NFO) denotes the first-time offer for subscription of scheme units being launched by a mutual fund. This may be considered similar to Initial Public Offers (IPO) of equity shares, wherein the company offers shares to the public. Before discussing the comparison between NFO vs. IPO, it is important to know how NFOs and IPOs work.

As we all know, there are various types of mutual fund schemes catering to different investment needs. And having a right mix of mutual funds may aid in building a corpus over a period of time. Likewise, while investing in value funds it would lead to diversification in investment style and unlock the potential of wealth creation over medium to long run.

With the evolution of the financial markets, investors today have a wide range of investment options to choose from. However, to make an informed investment decision, one must carefully evaluate the different options available out there. This article aims to discuss different broad categories of investments as below:

Often ‘the more the merrier’, but sometimes ‘the lesser the better’. This holds true while investing in Mutual Funds too. Although Mutual Funds are popular for offering diversification, there is a type of scheme that adopts a focused and concentrated approach too.

Equity Linked Savings Schemes (ELSS) are a special category of equity mutual fund schemes that provide tax benefits to the investors and are commonly known as tax-saving mutual funds. As of 30 June 2021, such funds manage around Rs. 1.36 lakh crores of AUM (Assets Under Management). ELSS funds are reasonably popular amongst retail investors, with 1.28 crore investor folios in such schemes as on that date 

Source: AMFI – Association of Mutual Funds in India

While the Covid 19 pandemic took the world by storm, one of the lessons of this crisis is the realization that we must all prepare for any such eventuality in the future. It is imperative to properly plan and manage one’s finances for building a financially secured future. Here is a beginner’s guide to financial planning in 2021 and for the future years: